New Age, New Clans
by Batstar of ShadowClan
Summary: Smoky's alleycat gang, a ragtag bunch of city cats called the GrayBacks, are starving. A mysterious source has been taking their food, and Smoky's mother, leader of the gang, is growing weaker and weaker, and more delirious with no food. Then one day, Smoky stumbles upon the Clans. As he trains to be a warrior, he realizes he can save the GrayBacks- by uniting them into a Clan.
1. Cast of Characters

**Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Warriors_ arc, Erin Hunter does. And I also do not own the picture. **

* * *

I am only listing the cast of characters because there are important cats who do not belong in the Clans, so feel free to take a look! 

**Cast of Characters**

_**ThunderClan**_

**LEADER: **Rabbitstar- Brown-and-white tom with green eyes

**DEPUTY: **Ryewhisker- Dark tabby tom with knowing amber eyes

**MEDICINE CAT: **Rushpool- Black she-cat

**WARRIORS: **Furzetail- Ginger tom with a short temper

Dewfall- Blue-gray she-cat

Cherrystripe- Tortoiseshell she-cat with a striped tail

Brackenflight- Golden tom

Heronfrost- Light gray tom

Silentecho- Ginger-and-white tom

Nettlefur- Black-and-white tom with spiky fur

Olivenose- Black she-cat

Scorchtail- Ginger tom

Waspstrike- White tom with quick reflexes

Moletooth- Dark gray-and-brown tom

APPRENTICE, Blazepaw

Applebreeze- Reddish-brown she-cat

Willowfall- Light gray she-cat

Boulderfang- Dark gray tom

Runningfire- Ginger-and-golden tom

APPRENTICE, Beechpaw

Mothwhisker- Pale golden she-cat

APPRENTICE, Sagepaw

**APPRENTICES: **Blazepaw- Silver she-cat with a short temper and amber eyes

Beechpaw- Dark tabby tom

Sagepaw- Gray tabby she-cat with kind eyes

**QUEENS: **Shimmerbreeze- Light brown she-cat (father of Runningfire's kits: Sedgekit, Russetkit, and Pricklekit)

**ELDERS: **Quailwing- Light brown she-cat

Whitescar- White tom with a scar over his right eye

Rippletooth- Black tom

Reedfeather- Dark ginger tom with blue eyes

_**ShadowClan**_

**LEADER: **Lakestar- Blue-gray she-cat

**DEPUTY: **Leopardwing- Golden spotted she-cat

_**RiverClan**_

**LEADER:** Logstar- Mottled brown tom

**DEPUTY: **Featherpool- Silver she-cat

**_WindClan _**

**LEADER:** Crowstar- Dark gray tom

**DEPUTY: **Honeybreeze- Golden she-cat

**CATS OUTSIDE CLANS**

_**BlackHearts**_

**LEADER: **The Dark- Pure black tom with intimidating green eyes

_**WhiteFurs**_

**LEADER: **The Light- Large ginger-and-white tom

_**BrownPelts**_

**LEADER: **The Brown- Mottled brown tom with amber eyes

_**GrayBacks**_

**LEADER: **The Gray- Also known as ASHLEY, a skinny gray she-cat

**MEMBERS: **Storm- Strong gray tom

Hound- Large gray-and-ginger tom

Brooklyn- Light gray she-cat

Sophie- Dark gray tabby she-cat

Chloe- Skimpy gray she-cat

Viola- Light gray tabby she-cat

Felix- Dark gray tom

Milo- Gray-and-white tom

Garfield- Gray-and-ginger tom

Elliot- Huge gray tom with green eyes

Bailey- Stormy gray tom

Jangles- Gray-and-brown tom

**YOUNGERS**

Smoky- Dark gray kit

Iris- Dark tabby she-cat, Smoky's sister

Elliot- Dark gray tom, Smoky's brother

Jasper- Eldest Younger, gray-and-ginger

Steven- Ginger-and-black tom, Jasper's brother


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"Ashley, I'm hungry!" Iris whined pitifully. Smoky bit back a sigh. He was hungry, too; starving, like the rest of the GrayBacks, the gang that he lived with. Ashley, his mother, was the leader, known commonly as the Gray. The gang, though, was not doing well; it had not been for a long time. Food was scarce, and like now, he was hungry. He knew better, though, to complain.

"Oh Iris, shut up," sighed Elliot, Smoky's brother. Their sister Iris, only one moon, never seemed to shut up. Smoky couldn't remember a time when he was like this.

"But I'm—"

"We're all—"

"Can I just—"

"No, there's no—"

"Shut up!" snarled Ashley from the corner. Her tired amber eyes blazed with an air of annoyed anger. "I hate you stupid kits! Can't you just shut up? I'm trying to think!"

The three kits fell silent. Smoky felt his heart sink a bit. Ashley had never said she hated them; of course, she expressed her _dislike_ in many ways: cuffing their heads, yelling at them in front of the other GrayBacks, and complaining, complaining, complaining, just like Iris.

"Why are you kits so useless?"

"Why are these kits so hard to manage? I never wanted them!"

"Stop whining, you'll get your food soon enough."

"Where is Hound? Hound! Take care of these irresponsible kits for me. I have other things to do."

And the newest one—

"I hate you stupid kits!"

It was a blow to Smoky. His father, Hound, almost never came. The GrayBack members came and went and almost no cat stayed for a period longer than four days. The only ones who did stay always were Smoky, his littermates, and Ashley the GrayBack leader.

"I'm going to find Jasper," Elliot announced, and crawled out from under the Dumpster from which they were supposed to stay and disappeared. Ashley remained stoic, staring blankly ahead with her eyes, which had the dullness of starvation. A while later, Iris wriggled out.

"Iris!" hissed Smoky, glancing at Ashley. The skimpy gray she-cat didn't react. "You haven't even—"

Iris followed Elliot away. Smoky sighed. They weren't supposed to be outside of the Dump; he and Elliot, during nights, had snuck out and spied on the other GrayBack members. From what Smoky knew, they were all gray (hence the name). Jasper was a large tom-kit for his age, a huge cat of six moons. He towered over Smoky and frightened him. Jasper was an arrogant one; he strutted around and struck up chats with the senior members of the gang.

"Well, well, if it isn't Smoky the smoky gray tom."

Smoky looked up, even though he knew the voice before he saw. It was Steven, the brother of Jasper, matching his littermate in both arrogance and insolence.

"Steven," Smoky replied. "All right?" it was hard to keep the growl out of his voice.

"Feeling full, Smokes?" Steven teased. His father, as everyone knew, was a house cat with a GrayBack mate. Steven's father always let him eat as much house cat food as he wanted; it was easy to spot him and his brother among the gray pelts of the GrayBacks, as they were easily the fattest ones. Steven had never known hunger.

"Never better," growled Smoky, shoving out from under the Dump and pushing past Steven roughly. He headed for the main entrance, but glanced slightly at Ashley; she didn't react like to Elliot, and that worried him slightly. She was never like this.

He heard pawsteps behind him; Steven was following.

"Food's plentiful?" he asked.

"Obviously," Smoky meowed sarcastically. The cold air chilled him, but he wasn't going to show that to Steven.

"Ah, I see," Steven drawled. Smoky bit back a snarl. Why Steven kept persuing him, he didn't know. All he wanted was to be left alone.

"Can you leave?"

"Manners," Steven meowed lazily. "I am older than you, you know."

"No, I didn't," retorted Smoky, even though he did. "Now I do. Although my mom is still leader of this Clan, so—"

"She's not a very good leader, is she?" asked Steven lightly, intending a heavy response.

"If you're just going to insult us, leave," snarled Smoky. "We're flourishing, in case you didn't notice."

Which was a complete lie. The GrayBacks gang was lessening by the day, and less and less cats returned. There was some kind of mysterious source causing this starvation, Smoky knew it. He had also heard from Elliot who had heard from Jasper who had claimed to hear from a WhiteFur cat that the other gangs were starving, too.

The violence on the Uprightplace streets were becoming more frequent; every day, some cat died, be it GrayBack, WhiteFur, BlackHeart, or BrownPelt. The fighting for food got worse each day; Smoky didn't know how or where they got the food.

All he knew was that they were in peril if they didn't get some.

* * *

One night, Smoky and Elliot woke up.

"Where's Ashley?" whispered Elliot. Smoky looked to the place where his mother usually slept.

It was empty.

"I don't know," Smoky replied.

"Ashley's out," a voice meowed. It was Jasper and Steven, padding into their den.

"You're not allowed in here!" hissed Iris, who had woken up. "This is the leader's place!"

"We can go wherever we want," Steven retorted. "It's a free place."

"What do you mean Ashley's out?" Elliot crawled out and faced the two toms.

"We were coming here," replied Jasper with a shrug, "and she was talking to a tom."

"Who wasn't Hound," sneered Steven.

"They were in the forest," Jasper added.

"What were they doing?" asked Smoky, unable to ignore them. Even Iris was listening.

"I don't know," Jasper called over his shoulder as they turned away to leave, "but you watch out. He was a white tom."

Ashley had came back that night. Smoky had stayed wide awake, processing what information Steven and Jasper had given them. Were they lying? He didn't trust them one bit.

"Oh no," Ashley gasped one day. "Oh no. I knew I shouldn't have—"

She spasmed. Iris cried out, and Smoky gasped.

"Get-get someone-now—you useless kits—hurry!"

Smoky dashed out immediately. He pelted down the path that lead to the main camp, and skidded to a stop. There were only a couple of GrayBacks present; it was the morning, and many were elsewhere.

"Chloe!" he yowled to the nearest GrayBack, "please, help. Ashley's in pain. Please."

"Coming," Chloe called back, and she trotted up to meet him. "Am I allowed to…?"

"I give you permission to enter!" gasped Smoky in a panicked voice; Ashley could be dying. Chloe entered the den without a second glance and raced to Ashley, who was now on her side.

"Go away," Elliot meowed gruffly, pushing Smoky back. Iris followed curiously, also unable to see their mother in pain.

"What's going on?"

"I'll tell you guys later," Elliot meowed shortly. He ushered them out to the main camp and they joined the other GrayBacks, who seemed indifferent to the situation that was happening to their leader.

The kits waited in anticipation. Finally, Chloe padded out, carrying something… something white.

"A kit?" gasped Milo.

"A WhiteFur!" growled Felix.

"Ashley's been tampering with the enemy!" snarled Viola. "She is unworthy of the leadership position!"

"Stop!" snarled Elliot. The gang, surprisingly, fell silent. "She was not messing around! She is a leader and she knows her limits. There is a reason she is the Gray and not you."

The silence continued, then the gang gradually dispersed. Chloe nodded stiffly to the kits and allowed them to pass.

"What's going to happen to her?" squeaked Iris, indicating the white kit.

"We're going to leave her out of the camp," Chloe meowed, her voice muffled by the kit's fur. "If the WhiteFurs find her, fine. If she dies, even better. If she survives as a loner… we hope that she goes far away."

"Can't we at least name her?" whined Iris.

"Naming makes one close to the named," Chloe meowed gruffly. "I'd rather you not." She padded away with the kit.

"Hawk," whispered Iris, "Hawk is her name. She will be strong and survive. I bet she's going to find more food than all of us. Hopefully, one of our cats in our family lives."


	3. Chapter 2

"Where's Hawk? Is she dead?" asked Iris.

"I don't know," sighed Elliot. "You've been asking this all day. Shut up, please."

But Iris continued to pester them.

"Be quiet!" snapped Smoky, getting immensely annoyed. "We can't check, we don't know, so just don't say anything!"

At this, Iris fell silent. The three kits continued to sit in the sun quietly, while Ashley had disappeared for a long time.

"Ashley's not here," Elliot noticed. "Let's explore."

Smoky obliged and crawled out from behind the Dump. "Stay here," he told Iris.

She nodded halfheartedly.

They left and came to the main camp. There were more cats here this time, but Ashley wasn't among them.

He spotted Steven and Jasper with their mother Brooklyn. He scowled as they both gave insolent smiles, and Brooklyn only nodded stiffly.

"It's the leader's kits," sneered Steven.

"Wow, you guys look _great_," Jasper praised. "Almost full-bellied, I daresay."

Smoky and Elliot pushed past them with their heads held high. Smoky wasn't about to let Jasper and Steven one-up him.

"At least my father isn't a fat ugly house cat," growled Smoky.

"_What_ did you say?" snarled Jasper, his eyes glittering dangerously. He shoved his face into Smoky's, whose heart pounded, now deeply regretting his last words.

But submitting into Jasper's aggressiveness meant losing. And Smoky vowed never to lose again to Jasper. He had lost too many times.

"I said," Smoky retorted, "in case you're _deaf,_ that at least my father isn't a fat ugly house cat, pampered by humans and entirely dependent on them. No wonder you're so stupid. You can' t even think for yourselves."

_"Smoky!"_ Elliot hissed under his breath. Smoky ignored him.

"You're just a bully," Smoky continued, growing more confident by the minute. Jasper's eyes widened in shocked anger and Steven's face knitted into a snarl. "You're so low that you try to make others feel low. At least I try. At least I try to survive. You just act cute for humans so they feed you! You're just a stupid fat house cat! You're not worthy of living in the GrayBacks alley! YOU'RE NOT WORTHY OF BEING A CAT! YOU'RE JUST A BIG, STUPID, ARROGANT BULLY—" his voice grew louder with each statement, anger and fury over the moons of teasing that Jasper and Steven had given him, making him feel worthless and stupid…

Smoky felt a blow to his head, and a stinging pain. His head spun with dizziness and his vision blurred.

Then, he felt the feeling of fur rushing past. Elliot had collided with Jasper, and the two were locked in a fierce tussle.

"Don't hurt my brother!" Elliot screeched.

They continued rolling around on the ground, shocked GrayBacks watching the two kits. Steven danced around them, trying to help.

"A fight!" yelled Milo excitedly.

"Too bad Hound's not here," said Viola, "then he would've been proud of his sons."

_Proud of his sons. _Smoky bunched his haunches and leapt at Steven, his anger still vivid. Steven let out a furious yowl and slashed at Smoky, who dodged the ginger-and-gray tom's long claws. Smoky could feel blood soaking his fur; the ground was red with it.

Suddenly, there was a roar and heavy pawsteps rushed in. A powerful paw pried Smoky off of Steven easily and lifted him into the air.

Smoky looked down, heart pounding, and found himself gazing into the eyes of Jasper and Steven's mother, Brooklyn. She was a large cat, with a pudgy face and small, angry eyes.

"How dare you!" Brooklyn screeched angrily. "How dare you!" with enormous strength, Brooklyn tossed Smoky against the camp wall.

Smoky hit with a sickening crunch. His vision had begun to blur again, and he couldn't think straight. When he finally recovered, he could see Brooklyn beginning to lift Elliot into the air. Then, without warning, Elliot flew towards Smoky, paws outstretched, eyes wide.

"Elliot!"

Then, the world went black.


	4. Chapter 3

"Another kit?" a voice meowed. "How many have you found?"

"Just the other," a female voice replied.

Smoky blinked open his eyes, and found himself staring into a pair of blue eyes. The air smelled different; it didn't stink of Upright monsters and smoke. There were no yowls of fighting cats and no screeches of Uprights walking by.

Instead, only the songs of birds echoed. The distant voices of other cats talking and laughing could be heard.

"Where am I?" he asked weakly.

"You're in ThunderClan, kit," a gruff voice meowed, the first voice.

"ThunderClan? What's that? Where is Ashley? Where are the GrayBacks? Elliot? Iris?" Smoky found himself panicking as he realized he was far away from home.

"Rest," the blue-eyed cat meowed. She had a black pelt; was she a BlackHeart? Gently, she pushed him back into something soft and springy; he rose again to examine it and found that it was a bed of moss.

Relieved, he sank back into it. It was much more comfortable than the hard, Upright ground he slept on.

"To answer your question," the she-cat meowed, "ThunderClan is one of the four Clans. As for the other questions, I'm sorry, but I don't know."

_Don't know? You must've killed Ashley and… and… taken over the GrayBacks! Elliot must be dead! Iris is gone! I've been catnapped! By BlackHearts!_

"You BlackHeart!" he growled, "release me! I can see through your tricks!" Although he very much preferred the BlackHearts' camp than the GrayBacks' dirty one.

The black she-cat glanced over at the other cat—which Smoky saw was a ginger tom.

"He doesn't know what he's saying," the black she-cat meowed, trying to sound reassuring, though Smoky could see the confusion on her face. The ginger tom looked furious. Smoky flattened his ears and backed down.

"Are you a BlackHeart?" he asked, even though BlackHearts were supposed to have black fur.

"A BlackHeart?" asked the ginger tom. "You tell me. I don't know what that is."

"And I don't know what ThunderClan is," Smoky retorted. This ginger tom reminded him strongly of Jasper.

The ginger tom suddenly looked amused. "_This _is ThunderClan." He gestured to the cave they were in and the surroundings outside, which didn't look at all like an Uprightplace; in fact, it looked like the forest, which Smoky could only dream of.

"This the woods," he managed to say.

"Yes. ThunderClan is located in the woods," replied the ginger tom. "What's your name, anyways?"

"Smoky," Smoky replied. "Who are you?"

"My name is Rushpool," said the black she-cat. "And this is Scorchtail."

"Why do you guys have such weird names?" asked Smoky before he could think. _Oops. What if they get mad at me?_

Rushpool and Scorchtail exchanged glances, then Scorchtail meowed, "that's our Clan names."

"Clan names?" echoed Smoky. "Can I get up?"

"No," Rushpool meowed, pushing him down again, "you need to rest."

"No I don't!" Smoky exclaimed. "Don't tell me what to do!"

Scorchtail stepped in front of him. "You're bleeding, kit," he growled, "in case you haven't noticed. If Rushpool says you need to recover, just do it. She's the medicine cat, the healer."

Smoky flattened his ears. He could take on Jasper, but not Scorchtail, who was ten times bigger than Jasper. Admitting defeat, he sank back into the nest.

Scorchtail huffed and stalked out.

"Why's he so mean?" asked Smoky to Rushpool.

Rushpool smiled. "He's just a little protective, that's all."

"Of what?" questioned Smoky. But Rushpool just shook her head and continued to smile.

"Does he like you?" pressed Smoky. Gossip like this was always spreading through the GrayBacks, and Smoky had gotten used to it, even started some himself.

"Medicine cats aren't allowed mates," Rushpool meowed, "we are to stick to our duties as Clan healers. Rest, now."

But as Smoky laid his head down on the moss, he realized, as his eyelids slid down to succumb to sleep, that Rushpool hadn't answered his question.

* * *

"He's awake," a new voice said.

"Shh!" said Rushpool.

"But I want to meet him," whined the voice. Smoky opened his eyes. Staring over him was a dark tabby tom who drew back instantly.

"Whoa," said the same voice, "he has blue eyes!"

"Blue eyes aren't that rare, mouse-brain," a gray tabby she-cat to his left meowed, cuffing him gently. She was extremely pretty and Smoky's heart leapt a bit.

"Shut up, Sagepaw," the dark tabby tom grumbled. There was another she-cat, smaller, standing behind them, and she was kind of pretty, too, but not as pretty as Sagepaw.

"What's your name?" the dark tabby continued.

"Smoky," Smoky replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"He has a weird accent," Sagepaw whispered to the dark tabby, and Smoky suddenly felt deflated.

"What's wrong with my accent?" asked Smoky, trying his best to sound like them.

"You're a Twolegplace cat," the dark tabby said at once.

"What's that?"

"You know, Twolegs," the dark tabby meowed, "those hairless pink creatures that walk around and ride in monsters."

"You mean Uprights?" Smoky said at once.

"Yeah, whatever, I guess you can call them that," the dark tabby replied, shrugging.

"What's your name?"

"Beechpaw," the dark tabby meowed, "and this is Sagepaw. And that's Blazepaw." He gestured to the silver she-cat behind him.

"Why are you all 'paws?'" Smoky asked. "And why is Rushpool a pool? And Scorchtail a tail? Is there a difference?"

"No, that's just our names," Rushpool replied, from the corner of the den. "It's what makes each warrior unique."

"I thought that was our character," Smoky said, and Rushpool said, "that, too."

"So, who's the newcomer!" a large brown-and-white tom with vivid green eyes pushed into the den. Rushpool began to look rather annoyed; perhaps this was her den and she didn't enjoy so many visitors. "Smoky, if I'm correct?"

Smoky nodded.

"Well, Ah'm Rabbitstar," the brown-and-white tom boomed. "Pleased to meet you, little tomcat." He placed a huge paw on tom of Smoky's head and gave Smoky a ruffle. The "paws" smirked, and once again Smoky felt deflated as he saw Sagepaw's smug face.

Smoky tried to flatten the fur on top of his head as Rabbitstar stepped back."Well, ah'm the leader of this Clan," Rabbitstar continued. "That's why ah'm a 'star.' 'Star's' are leaders. When a warrior becomes a leader, they change the second part of their name to 'star.' When a kit becomes an apprentice, that is, a warrior-in-training (warriors are members of this Clan who hunt and fight for each other, there are four rival Clans), they change their 'kit' to 'paw', just like Blazepaw, Sagepaw, and Beechpaw. Once apprentices become warriors, they change their 'paw' to some other part. I get to come up with that," Rabbitstar meowed proudly. "Pretty simple, eh?"

"Um, yeah," Smoky meowed, who had gotten lost at "apprentice." "So… um… can I go now? Am I recovered?"

"Go where?" asked Rabbitstar loftily.

"Home," Smoky said at once, "back home. You know, to the Uprightplace. To the GrayBacks. To… to my brother. And my sister. And my mother."

"I'm sorry, Smoky," Rabbitstar meowed in a hushed voice, "but we don't know where that is. We just found you in the forest, barely alive."

Smoky felt as if his heart had dropped. The apprentices looked sympathetic, and Rushpool was silent.

"Oh," Smoky managed. "Well, what do I do then?"

"You could stay here," Beechpaw offered. "Stay here and train with us to be a warrior of ThunderClan. Then you can help us defeat those nasty ShadowClan—"

"Beechpaw, please," Rabbitstar warned, silencing the tabby tom and stepping forward. "Yes, I prefer that you stay here for the time being."

After a long pause, Smoky said, "all right. I'll join your Clan." _Only because there's no other place to go. _


	5. Chapter 4

"This is Ice," Beechpaw meowed as they took Smoky around the camp for a tour; he was finally "recovered enough" to walk. There were so many warriors' names to remember, Smoky didn't bother to. Some warriors treated him nice enough; others sniffed and turned away. He was used to this personality; this was a typical GrayBack cat behavior.

Ice was a white she-cat about two moons younger than him. She also had blue eyes and stared up at him.

"She was also found, a while back," Blazepaw piped up for the first time.

"Thank StarClan another tom," Beechpaw whispered to Smoky, "I was getting sick of being surrounded by she-cats."

Smoky smirked, and Sagepaw, Blazepaw, and Ice shot them glares, which they immediately shut-up to.

"All cats who are old enough to catch their own prey meet me at the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" yowled Rabbitstar some tail-lengths away.

"Quick! Your warrior ceremonies are beginning!" Beechpaw meowed, nudging Smoky and Ice, who both glanced at each other and tentatively followed the other apprentices back to the clearing. Rabbitstar was now on the Highrock, a big rock Smoky was told was used for Clan meetings. A hole behind it was Rabbitstar's den.

"Today, we gain two new apprentices," Rabbitstar announced, "and both not from Clans. But that doesn't matter. We take whatever we get. Ice, step forward."

The Clan drew back as Ice, the white she-cat, warily padded beneath the Highrock, gazing up at Rabbitstar expectantly.

"Until this cat receives her warrior name of ThunderClan, she will be known as Icepaw," he meowed. The brown-and-white leader looked around. "Ryewhisker," he decided briskly, and from what Smoky was told, Ryewhisker was the deputy, the to-be leader. "You will be Icepaw's mentor."

"What's a mentor?" whispered Smoky to Beechpaw.

"Our warrior trainer," Beechpaw hissed back.

"Smoky, step forward," Rabbitstar announced, and Smoky was jerked back to attention. Shaking, he stepped forward as Ryewhisker came to greet Icepaw. The two stepped to the side.

"Until this cat receives his warrior name of ThunderClan, he will be known as Smokepaw," Rabbitstar boomed, his voice echoing around the gorge. Another gaze around. "Scorchtail, you will mentor Smokepaw. I trust that you pass your skills onto this apprentice, and you will train him to be a fine warrior."

_Oh no, not Scorchtail,_ Smokepaw thought desperately. He'd even prefer a complete stranger warrior; he did not want Scorchtail as a mentor.

Scorchtail padded forward, looking reluctant, and touched noses with Smokepaw. Smokepaw followed him to the side as the meeting was called off.

"Ok, we'll take a tour of the territory first," Ryewhisker was telling Icepaw; Smokepaw wished that he would've gotten him as a mentor. "Scorchtail, want to come?"

"No, I think we'll stay here for now, until you come back," Scorchtail replied briskly. "Come along Smokepaw…. Hurry, now… we have much to do." Scorchtail headed towards the medicine den.

_Probably to talk to Rushpool,_ Smokepaw thought. _And you don't even know that Rushpool can't like you back. She probably doesn't. _Smokepaw padded towards the den, following Scorchtail at a distance.

"Hello, Rushpool," Scorchtail meowed as they pushed their way in.

"Hi," Rushpool greeted back.

"We're here to pick up the moss," Scorchtail meowed. "Got any?"

"No," Rushpool meowed, I've just sent Sagepaw to get some… here she comes."

Sagepaw appeared at Smokepaw's tail, making him jump. Her jaws were full of moss, and she dropped them to the ground. "Here you are, Rushpool."

She smiled at Smokepaw, who grinned awkwardly back, and walked out. Smokepaw watched her go, then turned back to Scorchtail, who was busy talking to Rushpool.

Rushpool looked past Scorchtail. "I think Smokepaw's ready to go."

Scorchtail looked back, too. "Oh—oh, okay, then. Let's pick up the moss and leave, then. Good-bye. I'll see you… later."

"Yup." Rushpool helped them gather the moss and mentor and apprentice set off. Scorchtail lead him to the elders' den.

"A duty of an apprentice is to change the nests of the elders," he meowed stiffly. "Elders have served the Clan for a long time and deserve to rest." He peeked in. "I think Blazepaw's in there, she'll show you what to do. After you're done, come outside and find me." And with that, he left.

Smokepaw picked up the moss and awkwardly padded in. The four elders, Quailwing, Whitescar, Rippletooth, and Reedfeather were chatting quietly. Quailwing was standing up; Blazepaw was busily tearing out her nest and making a new one. They looked up as he padded in.

"Hello, Smokepaw," Rippletooth croaked. Smokepaw mumbled a hello through the moss and padded over.

"Want me to show you how to change the moss?" asked Blazepaw briskly.

"Um, yeah," Smokepaw said, dropping the moss.

"Well, you pull the old moss out of the nest and just put in the new moss," Blazepaw explained succinctly. "Just make sure the moss doesn't have thorns."

Smokepaw poked through the moss and indeed found a couple of thorns; had Sagepaw bitten down on them? Was she okay? He flung them outside the elder's den and Rippletooth stood up to let him change his nest; Smokepaw followed Blazepaw's example and quickly changed Rippletooth's nest and Reedfeather's.

"Scorchtail?" he stepped out. "I'm done!"

"Okay, then," the ginger tom meowed, padding up. "Discard the used moss over by the dirt tunnel, please."

Smokepaw did as he was told and came back. Scorchtail looked around. "Um… well, I think Icepaw and Ryewhisker are going to be back soon, so let's just head out right now."

And so the two headed into the woods. Smokepaw had no recall how he even set foot into the woods; he would never dare. Did someone bring him here?

"Do you remember the way back?" asked Scorchtail from ahead. Smokepaw shook his head; he had gotten lost at the beginning of the way.

"Yes," he called out.

"Good." Scorchtail glanced back as they stopped. "Maybe you can show us the way back?"

_Uh-oh. I can see that he knows I don't know. _"Um, sure." Smokepaw tipped his head up. _Which way, which way? _

"Are you sure you know the way?" prompted Scorchtail.

"Yes, I do," Smokepaw meowed. "Just give me some time to think."

"Hello, guys!" right at that moment, Ryewhisker and Icepaw appeared at their shoulders. Smokepaw gave a sigh of relief.

"Greetings," Scorchtail meowed stiffly, "we were just about to go home. Smokepaw says he knows the way."

"Yes, I do," Smokepaw meowed. "It's—"

"That way!" Icepaw pointed her tail east.

"Right, though I think it was Smokepaw's turn," Ryewhisker meowed.

Smokepaw shot Icepaw his best look of annoyance, although secretly inside he was thanking her immensely for the interruption. "Yes. It's that way, I believe."

"We'll follow you, then," Scorchtail meowed curtly.

"Okay," Smokepaw meowed with a nonchalant shrug. He set off at a brisk pace, putting confidence into his walk. Hound had taught him to walk with his shoulders back, chest puffed out; even if he didn't feel proud, he should always look proud; Hound had said that it made others respect you when you looked like you respected yourself.

He could feel the pawsteps behind him, and he grew more confident; the trees were looking familiar. _This is the right way!_

Then, he felt a bitter frustration, a bitter resentment at Icepaw, who had come into the forest the same day he had, and had known how to get back, when he didn't… he had to keep up with her. He had to beat her, get better than her.

It was his goal.

* * *

"Hi, Smokepaw!" Beechpaw greeted. "How are ya?"

"I'm fine, how about you?" Smokepaw replied.

"Fine, thanks," Beechpaw meowed, shrugging. "Want to go on a patrol? I can get the others to come, too."

"Okay, sure," Smokepaw meowed. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know, what about you? I can ask the she-cats."

"Can we go towards the outskirts?" Sagepaw appeared at Smokepaw's shoulder, making his heart leap; she always moved like a shadow.

"Yeah, that's fine," Beechpaw agreed as Blazepaw and Icepaw approached. They alerted Ryewhisker, who nodded his consent, and they set off.

"So how's gang life?" asked Blazepaw to Smokepaw.

"It's really bad right now," Smokepaw meowed, "there's like no food, so the four gangs are always fighting."

"That sounds like us," smirked Beechpaw.

"Yeah, except we're a lot more coordinated," Sagepaw added, and they all laughed; even Icepaw gave a quiet chuckle.

"Hang on," Blazepaw meowed, "I smell something weird."

"Yeah, me too," Beechpaw said, raising his head.

Smokepaw sniffed the air, and his heart nearly stopped—the scent was very familiar. In fact…

_Jasper! Jasper's here!_

Wildly, he looked around. _Where is he?_

"What are you looking for?" asked Beechpaw. Smokepaw looked at them; they were all staring at him.

"Nothing, just for the source of the scent," he meowed lamely. Suddenly, he saw a pair of yellow eyes—Jasper's eyes—peeking through the bushes beside him. With a startle, he jumped away. Beechpaw looked surprised.

"What's wrong?"

"Th-there," stammered Smokepaw, poking the bushes with his paw; the eyes were gone. Had he been imagining things? "I saw—eyes…"

"Eyes?" Sagepaw marched towards the bushes and peeked through them. "Nope, nothing."

Smokepaw let out a sigh of relief. He really had been—

A blinding force knocked the wind out of him, sending him tumbling down. He saw a flash of stripes—at first, he thought Beechpaw had deliberately turned on him—but the stink of Jasper filled his nostrils, and he was face-to-face with the gray-and-ginger tabby.

"So," Jasper sneered, "you came here."

Smokepaw snarled in response and cuffed him, sending Jasper recoiling, grinding his teeth. Without hesitation, Smokepaw leapt onto him.

"I… will… finish… what… I started!" Smokepaw growled furiously. "Never—insult—my—mother again!"

"Oh I can," Jasper sneered, while the other apprentices looked on in horror. "You know why?"

Smokepaw was momentarily stymied. Jasper took this chance and slammed him to the ground. Smokepaw's vision blurred, but he could make the outline of Jasper's leering face nearing his.

"Because she's dead," Jasper replied, scorn and disdain dripping in his voice, "she's dead."

"She is NOT dead!" roared Smokepaw. Still, a bit of him felt empty; what if Ashley really was dead? No, he refused to believe it. She was weak, yes, but she was still strong… she was the Gray… the leader… with all his strength, he pushed up against Jasper and knocked him to the ground, pinning him down. His claws slid out; they sank into the ginger-and-gray tabby's fur.

"Leave," snarled Smokepaw. "Leave, and don't come back."

Jasper winced, then smirked. "Then you can never come back. Ashley is dead. Brooklyn is the new Gray. You are forever exiled."

Smokepaw snarled. "Even if Brooklyn is the new Gray, Ashley would never be _dead!"_ He released Jasper, who immediately jumped up.

"I'm sure we'll meet again," he meowed oily, and disappeared into the woods.

* * *

"Are you okay?" shrieked Rushpool as the apprentices returned. Smokepaw was limping, covered in blood; Jasper had gotten him hard.

"I'm fine," gasped Smokepaw, "just encountered… someone familiar."

"Who was that, Smokepaw?" asked Beechpaw as the others accompanied him to the apprentices' den to rest.

"A bully from my old gang," Smokepaw meowed grimly. "His father's a kittypet and his mother's a GrayBack. She is the new Gray."

"What happened to… your mother?" asked Icepaw quietly. "She really didn't…"

"No," Smokepaw meowed firmly, "I know she didn't. Ashley's a strong cat. She couldn't have died."

The apprentices were quiet. Then, Blazepaw tucked in next to Smokepaw. "You guys go ahead with the patrol. I'll stay with Smokepaw."

Slightly disappointed that Sagepaw hadn't offered, Smokepaw nodded a grim good-bye to Sagepaw, Beechpaw, and Icepaw, who left silently. Blazepaw stared up at him.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"I said before, I'm fine," Smokepaw replied stiffly. He had thought, for a glorious moment, that joining the Clans would rid him of Jasper forever; obviously, he was wrong.

"Oh. Well, okay, then," Blazepaw replied with a bit of venom in her voice. She leaned against Smokepaw's shoulder; he felt rather uncomfortable.

* * *

Smokepaw woke to find Blazepaw gone. Clambering up, he shook out his pelt and padded into the light, squinting.

"Smokepaw, there you are," called Scorchtail, looking rather annoyed. "What happened?"

"This rouge cat I know from my gang attacked me," Smokepaw repeated. "I think he's gone now," he added hastily.

Scorchtail said nothing but flicked his ears a bit. "Well, okay, then. I've sent Blazepaw and Sagepaw out with Silentecho to check the borders. Meanwhile, why don't we do a little training?"

"Sure," Smokepaw meowed, and followed Scorchtail, padding alongside him.

* * *

"Smokepaw, doin' fine?" asked Rabbitstar in the sun-high.

"Yes, how about you?" asked Smokepaw politely.

"Fine, thanks," Rabbitstar replied, and they walked together through the camp. Many cats cast curious glances; some of them still weren't used to Smokepaw and Icepaw.

"Smokepaw," Rabbitstar continued, "tonight is the Gathering. I want you to go. You know what it's about. The meeting of the four Clans, I told you about that. Beechpaw also should've filled you in."

"Yes, I know," Smokepaw meowed, feeling a spark of excitement. He was going to see the four Clans for the first time! "Sure, I'll go."

"All right, then," Rabbitstar meowed, "stick close to Beechpaw and your friends. They'll guide you." He jumped onto the Highrock. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey meet me at the Highrock for a Clan meeting!

"Tonight is the Gathering. The cats who will be goin' are: Smokepaw, Blazepaw, Icepaw, Beechpaw, Sagepaw, Cherrystripe, Silentecho, Ryewhisker, Scorchtail, Olivenose, Applebreeze, Runningfire, and Dewfall. The rest of you I trust to watch over the Clan well. While ah'm gone, Nettlefur and Heronfrost'll be in charge. Thank you all, and please go rest, those you goin'."

Smokepaw felt a nudge from behind, and turned to find Beechpaw's yellow-green eyes staring at him.

"The Gathering's really fun!" he exclaimed. "But you'll be bone-weary if you don't sleep. We'll be up all night. C'mon, let's go to sleep."

* * *

Smokepaw felt a sharp prod in his side. Blazepaw was standing over him.

"Hurry up," she snapped, "it's time for the Gathering."

"Oh," he meowed, clambering up. Beechpaw and Sagepaw were gone; Icepaw was next to Blazepaw. "Coming."

Beechpaw and Sagepaw were waiting outside. "I wonder if we'll see Screechpaw," Beechpaw was saying.

"I don't know," Sagepaw mused.

"ThunderClan, let's go!" Rabbitstar yowled from the Highrock. The apprentices fell into step with the warriors as they streamed out of camp.

It was a long walk; they had to pass through the WindClan moor to reach the Island of Gatherings. The moor was open and plain; how did they defend themselves? ThunderClan's camp was closed and shrouded with bushes, trees, and thistles.

WindClan was just getting ready to leave. Crowstar called out to Rabbitstar.

"Hello!"

"Crowstar!" Rabbitstar yowled back, and joined the black pelted warrior up front. The WindClan warriors began to mingle with ThunderClan ones.

"Aren't leaders supposed to hostile to each other?" Smokepaw meowed.

"Yeah, but this is a Gathering," Sagepaw meowed, "you're supposed to be social!"

The Island was huge; Smokepaw had trouble balancing on the log bridge leading from the mainland to the Island. The grass was soft beneath his paws and the trees formed a sort of wall around a huge meadow. The meadow had a lone oak tree which Smokepaw instantly knew as the Great Oak. The trees opened up to the sky, and the gentle lap of lake water sounded nearby.

One other Clan was there, which was ShadowClan.

Lakestar, the leader, was already sitting upon the Great Oak. She greeted the two Clan leaders, who yowled back, and the clearing exploded with cries of welcome and hello.

Beechpaw poked his head through the crowd. "Hey! There's Screechpaw!"

Screechpaw was a ginger tabby tom who bounced up excitedly.

"Hi, Beechpaw, Blazepaw, Blazepaw. Who're these? New arrivals?"

"Yes," Beechpaw meowed, "this is Smokepaw, who's from the Twolegplace, and we found Icepaw here in the forest."

"Oh," Screechpaw meowed, looking at Smokepaw and Icepaw weirdly, "okay then. So they're not Clanborn?"

"Nope," Beechpaw meowed casually.

Screechpaw frowned.

"So," Sagepaw jumped in hurriedly, "how's the prey going?"

"Fine," Screechpaw replied, tearing his gaze away from the two new apprentices. "How about you?"

The apprentices continued talking, occasionally sprouting an inside joke. Feeling left out, Smokepaw slipped away.

"Omph!" he had bumped into someone.

"Watch it!" meowed an annoyed voice.

"Well, sorry," Smokepaw meowed, feeling sincerely sorry but annoyed at the source's tone of voice. _Jeez. _

He looked up. It was a dark tabby tom.

"What's your name?" asked the tom.

"Smokepaw," meowed Smokepaw, "what about you?"

"I'm Jackdawpaw," the tom meowed, "I know it's a mouthful."

_Kinda is. _"Not really," Smokepaw replied, "I've heard longer."

"Yeah?" asked Jackdawpaw. "You're not Clanborn, are you?"

"No," Smokepaw meowed, head high, "I'm from Twolegplace. The living's really hard there."

"I've heard," Jackdawpaw meowed, "is it better here?"

"Yeah, I guess," Smokepaw said casually, "it's kind of the same concept. Fight to live. There's four gangs; I'm part of the GrayBacks. There's also WhiteFurs, BlackHearts, and BrownPelts."

"Oh," Jackdawpaw meowed. He looked past Smokepaw. "Can I help you?"

Smokepaw turned to see a sandy-gray tom standing behind him.

"No, I'm just listening," the sandy-gray tom replied, sitting down. "Can I join?"

"Yeah, sure," Jackdawpaw meowed absentmindedly.

"Is this you guys' first Gathering?" asked the sandy tom.

"Yes," Smokepaw and Jackdawpaw meowed in union.

"Well, they're going to announce your apprenticeships," the sandy tom said without waiting for a "how is it like" question, "and the other Clans chant your names."

"Doesn't sound too bad," Jackdawpaw meowed before Smokepaw could say it.

"Hi," said a new voice. The three of them looked up. It was a black-and-white tom.

"Hi, Ripplepaw," said the sandy tom. "Join us."

"Thanks. What are you guys' names?"

"I'm Jackdawpaw," said Jackdawpaw.

"I'm Smokepaw."

"Oh, hi. I'm Ripplepaw, and this is Thrushpaw."

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself," Thrushpaw meowed, embarrassed. Jackdawpaw and Smokepaw both muttered "it's okay."

"Are you from RiverClan?" asked Jackdawpaw to Ripplepaw.

"Yeah," Ripplepaw replied, "the Gathering should start soon."

Sure enough, Logstar of RiverClan yowled, "the Gathering has begun! Please quiet down."

The four apprentices directed their attention towards the leader, who was on the outmost branch of the Great Oak.

"We are pleased to announce a new warrior of RiverClan, Fallowshade!"

"Fallowshade! Fallowshade!" the Clan chanted. Smokepaw missed it and looked around awkwardly.

"RiverClan warriors have reported a dog," Logstar continued, "we chased it off, but in case if comes back, please watch out."

"Thank you, Logstar," Lakestar of ShadowClan meowed. She stepped forward. "ShadowClan is also doing well, with the addition of two new apprentices—Jackdawpaw and Furzepaw. Also, there is a new warrior—Screechwing."

"What!" they heard Beechpaw yowl in outrage. "You never told us you became a warrior!"

The warriors laughed as Screechwing smiled slyly. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Jackdawpaw! Furzepaw! Screechwing!" the Clans chanted once more. Smokepaw was careful to chant along.

As the yowls died down, Crowstar stepped forward.

"Although WindClan's doing well—the rabbits are fat and plentiful—we are sorry to announce that our former deputy, Boulderwhisker, has became an elder—"

"Boulderwhisker!" the Clans chanted politely.

"—yes, thank you—and now, Honeybreeze is our new deputy."

There were murmurs of congratulations.

"Honeybreeze is a fair warrior," Smokepaw heard a ShadowClan cat meow to a RiverClan cat, "but I think Flamefoot would've done a better job leading, if he didn't go blind."

At last, Rabbitstar stood up as Crowstar dipped his head and retreated into the shadows of the Great Oak.

_Why did Rabbitstar have to go last? ThunderClan should've gone first. _

"ThunderClan is doing well, too—we have new members joining from all over the place. Please welcome Smokepaw and Icepaw, two former loners."

"Smokepaw! Icepaw!" the Clans chanted. Smokepaw held his head high, while he saw Icepaw dip her head modestly. Screechwing thumped her on the back excitedly with his tail.

"The Gathering is at an end!" Rabbitstar yowled, and jumped off the Great Oak. He called ThunderClan together, and they disappeared into the trees.


End file.
